Born of the Skies
by PhillisTriumphs
Summary: A tale of family, love and adventure unfolds after more than a decade since the dragons of Berk returned to the Hidden World. A multi-chaptered story which unfolds after the epilogue of HTTYD3.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, I just finished watching HTTYD3 yesterday, and it was bittersweet to watch. Also, at the end (Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD), we see that all the dragons of Berk retreated to the Hidden World for their safety. This led me to ask the question, "Are all the dragons really gone? Or were the only ones to go were the ones who were in Berk?". I say that only the dragons in Berk disappeared due to the fact that in the series, there were dragons like the Speed Stingers (who can't fly), the Buffalord (who can't be taken too far from his feeding grounds) and the Eruptodon (who protects the Defenders of the Wing). If they can't leave, then they're certainly still living their lives above ground, aren't they?

Yes, I know, the AN is so long, but please bear with me. This story is more of an epilogue, and will mostly focus on the lives of the next generation, while still featuring all the lovable characters we have all come to love.

Disclaimer: HTTYD is obviously not mine, but I wish I lived in that universe.

**Chapter One:**

Despite the number of years that have passed since the dragons of Berk returned to their ancestral home in the Hidden World, there were still days when Hiccup would climb on to one of the cliffs overlooking the vast ocean that surrounded New Berk, and reminisce on what Berk's life was like when dragons still lived among them. The sun was setting, and his eyes glazed as he watched the scene before him. He wondered briefly if his old friend, Toothless flew over the clouds occasionally to watch how life was like above ground again.

Over the horizon, he knew that the entrance to the Hidden World was there. As much as he wanted to reunite with his best friend, the dragons were all safer where they were. After the incident with Grimmel the Grisly, the attacks from Dragon Trappers have seized and the people of Berk could finally focus on building their new home without worrying for their lives. As Chief, it was his responsibility after all to assure the safety of his people.

The sky was now a deep orange and it wouldn't be long before the night was upon them, he knew that it was time to go back. He knew Astrid was very adept in handling village matters in his absence, but he wanted to return to his family while there was still a bit of daylight present. It was a long way down, but he still had his 'wings', and It would take him only a few minutes to get back down to the village.

There was a grin on his face as he expanded his wings. Flying will always be his favourite past time, with or without dragons. He jumped of the cliff with his wings fully stretched out and glided above the sea of trees until he landed on the familiar path to his village.

A couple of villagers who he passed by on his way to his home greeted him jovially as they went about in their daily activities. Since it was almost night time, some of the villagers were already lighting the torches spread across the grounds. He smiled at how at ease all of his people were. The location of New Berk was considerably larger and richer than that of Old Berk. The fish was aplenty and the trees were so thick that there was an abundance of lumber used for construction of new buildings.

He was finally a few feet away from his house when he finally saw his children, Zephyr and Nuffink playing some type of tag game, while their arms were extended away from their bodies as if they had wings. His children never saw dragons in the entirety of their short lives, but they grew up with plenty of stories on how great the dragons were. Their bedtime stories were all about stories of the Dragon Riders, and the games they played with each other, along with the other kids in the village always involved dragons in whatever capacity.

"Zephyr is pretending to be Stormfly, while little Nuffink is Toothless," Astrid said mirthfully as she approached her husband from behind. She put an arm around Hiccup's waist and snuggled closer to him. This earned a chuckle from Hiccup as he put a protective arm across her shoulder.

Zephyr finally saw that her parents were standing to the side, watching them play. She grinned at her parents as she ran towards them, Nuffink following closely behind, unaware that their parents were observing them play.

Zephyr, being the more outgoing of the siblings, jumped when she was a few inches away from Hiccup, expecting that her father would catch her. And catch her, he did. Nuffink who noticed it a bit late that he was running into his parents, wasn't able to stop and instead ran into his father's knew which caused him to fall on his bum.

Being the slightly timid and younger of the two children, Nuffink's lips started to tremble. An early indication that he was about to cry. Before he could do so, Astrid kneeled on one knee so that she was level with her youngest child.

"Are you okay, Nuff?" she cooed to her son. A lot of people didn't think that Astrid was a 'doting' kind of person, but motherhood brought out a softer side to her personality. She was still the fierce warrior that everyone thought her to be, but she was the ever caring mother as well.

Trying to control his tears, Nuffink nodded as he tried to stand up on wobbly legs. The minute that he did so, Astrid gathered him in her arms and carried him as she stood up.

"I think the two of you had a pretty exciting day?" Hiccup asked his children. He really did enjoy raising children.

Zephyr nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, Daddy. I was pretending to be Stormfly, but I don't think Nuff was being a good Toothless" the girl pouted, clearly unimpressed with her playmate.

Nuffink, who obviously didn't like the fact that his older sister was displeased with the way that he pretended to be toothless, stuck out his tongue towards her and snuggled closer into his mother's chest.

'Play nice, children" Astrid playfully chastised the two. It was a fun for both Hiccup and her to watch as their children interacted with each other. Being the only child of their respective parents, they really had no idea how siblings treated each other. Since in the Dragon Riders, only Tuffnut and Ruffnut were the siblings that they spent most of their time with, they didn't think that it was really the golden standard since the twins had such 'colorful' personalities.

"Hey, Astrid?" Hiccup whispered.

Astrid turned to her husband, quickly glancing at his beard and appreciating the fact that it worked well on him. "Yes, Hiccup?"

"What do you think about sailing towards the World's edge?", he asked her, an excited glint in his eyes.

After the dragon's returned to the hidden world, Hiccup never even tried to visit the gateway to the hidden world again. Although he yearned to catch a glimpse of his old friend, matters in the village always kept him busy. Being a chief, and settling in a brand new place gave him enough things to do that he seldom had time to go on a voyage for long periods of time.

"Do you think we'll be able to see them?" she asked. It wasn't a question on whether she wanted to come along or not, it was understood that she was on board with his idea. The only thing she worried about was if they took the trip, and there wouldn't be anything to see. After all, it had been a decade since they parted ways with their winged partners, what were the odds that they'd be there at the entrance, waiting for them to visit.

"I don't know, but maybe the fates will be kind. Right?" Hiccup answered her, a loving smile on his face.

Astrid wrapped her arms tighter around Nuff who was starting to doze off in his mother's arms, "I can't wait." She grinned up at him.

Hiccup sighed in relief, clearly grateful that Astid was excited as he was with his idea. Maybe he could bring a few tools of his just so he could do maintenance on his old friend's tail if they happened to see each other.

"Tomorrow then," Hiccup announced.

Astrid nodded at this, and she stood up on her toes a bit to give her husband a quick peck on his lips, "Tomorrow it is."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: A review? This early? Well, you certainly made my muse very happy. You deserve a special mention Canon Archives for giving BotS its first review. And yes, if the Eruptodon ever did leave Caldera Cay then all of them would die, wouldn't they? 

**Chapter Two**

****Hiccup stood at the same cliff he frequented since the dragons left Berk, and although he often spent his time there alone, this time he was with his family. And not only were there humans with them, 5 dragons were with them, staring off into the horizon, enjoying the day as it is again about to end.

Hiccup took his family to the entrance of the Hiddem World feeling hopeful that he'd be able to catch a glimpse of his best friend, but not only did the fates grant him his wish, he also got to meet his best friend's offspring. When they reunited, Toothless didn't recognize him instantly (maybe because he now sported a beard?), and he flew to the boat to see who would be foolish enough to impend on the entrance of the land he was protecting. But when Hiccup raised his hand towards Toothless, the bond between them was instantly renewed.

It felt exhilarating to fly against the clouds with Toothless again. It was double the fun, since they were also joined by Toothless' mate, offspring and surprisingly, Stormfly. Once the reunion was done on the boat, Toothless was able to call Stormfly to meet them outside. A reunion which managed to bring Astrid to tears, as she was also reunited with her long-time partner.

Zephyr and Nuffink were both a bit scared at first, understandably so since Toothless did approach their small boat a bit aggressively, but with their father's instructions and their mother's coaxing, they were also able to connect with Toothless and his family.

If Hiccup and Astrid didn't know any better, they would have assumed that both their children were natural Dragon Riders with how at ease they were flying with their dragons. The young chief of Berk thanked the Viking gods for their luck, despite the countless battles that he fought with several foes who wanted to hurt his people and their dragons, he was still blessed with a great life.

While on the cliff, Hiccup laughed at how the three young Night Light Furies played with Zephyr and Nuffink. Toothless' mate was observing at a close distance, despite the fact that he had also bonded with her during their fight with Grimmel, she would always be a wild dragon at heart. Toothless was standing beside Hiccup near the edge, while Astrid was laying against Stormfly on the grass.

"Look at us bud, we're both fathers now," he told his best friend affectionately. Toothless lolled out his tongue at him and sighed. Hiccup knew that his friend understood him, throughout the years of their shared experiences, they never really needed a lot of words to communicate. All they needed was trust, which was the same for all the Dragon Riders and the people of Berk who bonded with their own dragons.

Hiccup was distracted by Zephyr, who was pounced on by the little female dragon whose coloring took mostly after her mother. His daughter laughed as she rolled around in the grass, together with the dragon. He could already see bonds deepening there.

The Light Fury padded over to them and nudged her head against Toothless repeatedly, Hiccup didn't need to guess what she wanted. It would be dark soon, and the dragon family needed to go home. The times may have already been safer for dragons again, especially in Berk, but it didn't diminish the fact that Toothless was the Alpha dragon, and as such, he needed to go home to his kingdom.

Toothless almost sighed. Both him and his best friend were happy to see each other again after such a long time, and it was still heart breaking to part ways with your dearest friend once again. As they stared into each other, one truth was evident, Berk was no longer the dragon's home.

Behind them, Astrid had already said her farewell to her friend and Stormfly quickly flew from the cliff and made her way to where the Hidden World was. The sun was almost out, the Light Fury was already starting to get restless.

Toothless padded over to Hiccup and stood on his back legs as he used his front legs to hug him, much like how they did before. Hiccup wrapped his arms around tightly against his best friend, and held him there for as long as he could.

"Thank you bud," he whispered. A tear slowly falling from the corner of his eye. "It was nice flying with you again." Toothless made a sound, as if he was agreeing with him.

They let go of each other and there was a wistful expression on Hiccup's face. It would always be hard to think about the memories they shared with each other, but he was still happy that Toothless was alive and thriving.

The Light Fury called over to young dragons, and immediately all their attention turned towards her. With a bow towards Hiccup, she flew off the edge followed by her children. They hovered for a while in front of them, waiting for Toothless to leave with them.

Before Toothless finally decided to fly off, he suddenly tackled Hiccupto the ground where he then licked his best friend's face just like the old times. And as Hiccup's belly started to hurt after laughing so much, Toothless got off him immediately and flew off. His family flying with him back to their home. A single lingering glass was all that he did, before he finally used a fire blast to disappear into the night.

Hiccup sighed, he was still on the grass grasping his stomach.

"It never gets any easier, doesn't it?" Astrid asked, as she went over to her husband and offered a hand to help him stand up.

As he gazed upon the love of his life with a hand outstretched, he shook his head and sighed. "No, it does not." And with that, he took her hand and pulled her down with him. He used his knee for support in order to position himself over her, so that he could start tickling her mercilessly.

Astrid grasped as Hiccup tickled her at her sides. The children, who were always game for a tickling game, ran over them and started tickling their mother as well. A chorus of laughs could be heard as they continued their attack on her, an effective way to fight off the bit of sadness that came upon them because of the dragon's departure.

"I yield!" Astrid said breathlessly as she finally had enough. She knew that she could always take Hiccup and turn the tide of the game, but three versus one was still difficult odds.

Hiccup laughed and finally relented, "Come on kids, let's get off your mother."

The children were giggling, but they stepped away from their mother.

"Well, that was a great way to end the day," Astrid commented as she and Hiccup were finally able to stand up. "Reunions, some flying and a tickle attack. If anyone asked me, I'd say that this day was perfect."

Zephyr went over to Astrid and hugged one of her legs, "Do you think we'll ever see them again, mom?"

Astrid smiled at her daughter and patted her head. "Who knows? No one ever really knows when you deal with dragons."

Hiccup laughed, remembering the circumstances of how he was able to befriend Toothless years back. "You may find that they are always full of surprises."

The stars were starting to illuminate the sky, and the moon was on the rise. The moon was full and its light reflected on the surface of the water magnificently.

"When I grow up, I want to be best friends with a dragon too." Zephyr added gleefully.

Nuffink finally hobbled over to them and pulled at Hiccup's sleeve so that his father would carry him.

"How about you, Nuff?" Hiccup asked, as he gathered the blonde boy in his arms.

The boy grinned up at his father, "If the dragon wants to, daddy. I'll be their friend." Hiccup smiled at his boy, the child who took after his temperament so perfectly.

"The dragons will be happy to know that both of you like them so much," Astrid said proudly. Zephyr and Nuffink's exposure to dragons may be limited, but their love for the magnificent creatures was evident. It was a sign that the safer world they dreamed for dragons was attainable.

Hiccup took his wife's hand in his, "I think it's about time for dinner now. We should go."

Astrid nodded, "I'll cook your favourite."

Hiccup swallowed nervously but he still smiled. Astrid wasn't the best cook in New Berk, but he could probably eat it all. After all, he did love the woman to bits.

**O**

_11 years later…_

New Berk was covered of a rather thick layer of snow. They were in the middle of winter, and it took layers upon layers of cloth for Zephyr to feel comfortable enough to walk outside. She was off to Gobber's house to bring over some bread her grandmother made for the old man.

She took a peak at the basket she was carrying, curious to see what Valka was able to bake. In the recent years, since she was able to relax a bit more as Astrid and Hiccup started to get used to their responsibilities, she finally started to learn how to bake. It wasn't a very smooth road for Valka to get skilled enough to let others try her baked goodies, as evidenced by the fact that Silent Sven almost choked to death after eating her experimental rock bread. But still, with her continuous practice, she was finally able to be good enough to make edible bread.

When Gobber's house was in sight, she groaned as she saw her younger brother standing by the front door, drinking something that suspiciously looked like _yaknog. _Zephyr felt a little green in the gills as she watched her brother enjoy the drink. She didn't like the taste of it, not matter how much her mother tried to convince her that it was delicious.

"Zeph," Nuffink greeted her. A small smile tugging on his lips. He knew that it didn't please her sister to see him there.

Zephyr walked over to him and handed the basket full of baked goods to him. Nuffink took it quickly and placed it on the floor.

"I see Grandmother has been busy again," Nuffink said amusedly. "I'll give them to Gobber once he wakes up. The old man has been sleeping in lately, it's probably because of the cold weather."

Zephyr rolled her eyes at him, "I see that you spent the night here. Mom and Dad were quite worried that you didn't come back home last night."

Nuffink arched one of his brows at her, clearly not believing her words. "I doubt that. They both know where I go to when I don't feel like going home," he told her. "Maybe it was you who was worried?"

The older of the siblings huffed. She and Nuffink argued often in the past few weeks. The succession as chief was constantly being brought forward by many of the village elders. Although Hiccup was still quite young, it was tradition that the next chief be trained at an early age.

Zephyr, being the older of the siblings, was the natural choice for the succession. The only problem was that, she didn't want to be the chief once their father retired. She declared that she wanted her younger brother to follow in their father's footsteps, a responsibility that Nuffink also did not want since he wanted to apprentice under Gobber as the village blacksmith.

Due to the frequent arguments between the two siblings, Nuffink often decided to stay at other people's homes to get away from his sister who was quickly becoming too overbearing.

"Fine. I was worried," she admitted with a frown. "Dad told me that we should stop arguing soon since we're giving mom headaches."

Nuffink shrugged, "He doesn't need to tell me that since I'm not the one who doesn't want to become the next chief Zeph." He took another sip from his mug, and eyed his sister warily. They got on together nicely but lately, his sister was quite annoying. "Besides, I don't know what your problem is. Dad won't be retiring any time yet, why are you being so difficult with this? It's not as if you succeeding him will happen next week."

Zephyr sighed, her brother's words true. She knew that she was being quite difficult lately, but some of the elders were always bugging her about starting her training that is was starting to grate on her nerves. Their father already told her to stop worrying about it, but he wasn't always there when Gothi (who was still alive by the way) started nagging her about responsibilities and leadership.

"It's the pressure, I guess. It's starting to get to me," she admitted.

Nuffink smiled at her, "Stop letting old Gothi's words get to you. You know better than that." He stepped down from Gobber's front door and walked over to his sister. He quickly enveloped her in a hug and patted her back.

"I wish I was relaxed as you are right now," she muttered tiredly. The fact that Nuffink didn't return home last night caused her to have another sleepless night.

Nuffink let go her and sighed, "If you promise to stop arguing with me over this succession business, I'll go home tonight and make sure that to lessen the amount of times I sleep in other people's houses."

She nodded at him, "Fine. I promise."

Nuffink grinned at her, quickly placing an arm around her shoulders as he dragged her over to go inside Gobber's house. He quickly grasped the basket full of bread on his way to the kitchen, intent on having breakfast with his sister.

As the two of them sat in front of each other on Gobber's small dining set, they started picking their favourite bread inside the basket.

"Grandmother is really starting to get the hang of baking. This almost looks delicious," Nuffink said as he took out a piece of flat bread from the basket.

"With the amount of time she spends in her kitchen, improvement was already expected," Zephyr added as she picked a small fun which she knew was stuffed with fish meat.

The two proceeded to have breakfast. Gobber's snores were loud enough that he was heard even the kitchen.

Zephyr grinned as the snores even got louder, "How do you even sleep when Gobber is that loud?"

Nuffink chuckled, "I wasn't actually sleeping. I was in the smithy, practicing some of techniques Dad showed me the other day."

This piqued Zeph's curiosity, "What are you making?"

Her blonde sibling grinned at her, "Wings."

She gasped at this. They both knew that all the previous Dragon Riders had flight suits of their own, but no one else made a similar suit for the younger ones. It was quite exciting that her little brother's project was to make one of his own.

"Does Dad know you're trying to make one?" she asked, excitedly.

He nodded at her, "He's actually pretty excited at what I'll come up with. He showed me some of his designs, although his plans are flawless, I wanted to add more features to it."

Zephyr poured a pitcher of juice into her mug and smiled, "I can't wait to see what you'll come up with. Maybe you can make me one as well when you're done with your project?"

"Ofcourse I will. We'll fly together, just like how we flew together with the dragons when we were younger," Nuffink told her with barely contained glee. It was so long ago, but the memory of them meeting up with Toothless and his family was unforgettable.

Zephyr grinned at her brother. It was evident that she was looking forward to Nuff's crafting project as much as he was. She tore a piece of her bread and popped it into her mouth when they heard something or someone shuffling behind Gobber's house.

There was a window at the back of his house which had a view of Gobber's backyard. Curious as to what was making the noise, Zephyr stood up and went over to the window. She saw that some of the metal and raw materials that Gobber used for his crafts were scattered all over, but there was no living thing in sight. She was about to return to her seat when some of the barrels at the back fell over. There was something that moved. Zephyr rubbed her eyes, thinking that her mind was playing tricks on her.

She stared at the spot where the barrels fell, and she could almost swear that something was there. The light reflected on it a bit, and there was movement again. It was subtle but she was already sure that something was hiding in Gobber's yard. She heard a soft mewl, and in an instant, a dragon as white as snow appeared and it looked at her straight in the eye.

Zephyr gasped, despite the number of years since she last saw the dragon, she knew who it was. It was the only female dragon of Toothless and the Light Fury's brood. The dragon mewled again, it was almost as if it was calling to her.

All this time, Nuffink was oblivious to the fact that his sister was in awe of the dragon in Gobber's backyard.

"Hey, Nuff?" Zephyr called out to her brother in almost a whisper.

"Yeah?"

"What did dad tell us before when establishing bonds with dragons?" she asked, almost sounding in awe.

Nuffink looked as if he was deep in thought for a moment, "Hmmm…approach the dragon as carefully as you can. No sudden moves since they will either attack you or flee if they think you're threatening them. Also, stretch out your hand to show them that you come in peace…at least, that's what I remember."

He was about to ask her why she was asking him such an odd question, but she had already left through the back door. He quickly followed her out, quite curious as to why his sister ran out in the middle of breakfast.

He dropped the piece of bread he was eating as he saw the site before him, Zephyr was already gently patting the head of the beautiful white dragon in Gobber's backyard.

"Is-is she who I think she is?" Nuffink stuttered as he continued to gaze at his sister and her new friend.

Both his sister and the dragon turned their attention to him, and they both looked happy enough to acknowledge his existence. "Nuff, meet Snow. I'll think we'll be seeing her often from now on."


End file.
